New life of beautiful female reporter after 'social media detox'

Instagram and Facebook have become such a habit that few people even think twice about spending a large amount of time on them. Christina Farr, health technology reporter forCNBC, also has friends who strongly believe in the mission of bringing people closer together on social media. However, she has detoxed both of the above applications.

In August, Farr made a “big decision” in her life: she deleted the Facebook and Instagram apps from her phone and logged out of their websites. She hasn’t looked back since, and she doesn’t miss them.

Christina Farr quit Facebook and Instagram around the time the two apps introduced time-management features for users, which tracked how many hours they spent on social media. With the new features, Farr discovered that she was spending more than five hours a week on Instagram alone, not the one or two hours she had imagined. That surprised her, because she had originally only intended to open it when she was waiting in line for coffee or taking an Uber—times when she had nothing else to do.

As she began following other stylists, entrepreneurs, and influencers with flashy profiles, Farr mirrored their success to her own. Many a night, she pulled out her phone to scroll through for inspiration on what to eat next or what to wear next.

Farr's five hours a week isn't much, but she wonders if she could have spent it reading, volunteering, meeting friends, or learning a new language.

"Maybe I'll be able to speak fluent French again if I stop using these apps for a while," she said.

'Mind Kidnapping'

Quitting social media reminded Farr of the time she tried to quit coffee. Like the lack of caffeine, the lack of Instagram left her feeling restless and empty. Sometimes, Farr would unconsciously type the letter “F” into her browser before she even realized she wanted to go to Facebook.

The reporter recalled an interview with a former Google project manager who described social media as “hijacking our minds.” He compared the human mind to a “bottomless bowl,” while Facebook’s newsfeed was designed to lure users to scroll endlessly, staying on content far longer than they intended.

The reason Farr drifted away from Facebook a few years ago was that she began to notice that her posts weren’t getting as much engagement from other users. One problem was a change in Facebook’s algorithm, which announced in January that it would prioritize “meaningful social interactions” over content. This was especially important to Farr’s work as a reporter.

She grew tired of her friends’ political back-and-forth, and the ramblings of people she barely knew. Farr admits that Facebook has become more mainstream among parents than her generation, so it’s easy for her to give it up.

Additionally, Snapchat is primarily for college students, which doesn't interest someone in their 30s like Farr much; the Twitter account is maintained for work purposes.

For Farr, Instagram was the hardest thing to give up.

'Detox' social networks

By the fourth week of what Farr calls her "social media detox," she noticed her perspective on life changing.

When using Facebook and Instagram, she is dominated by other people's life milestones such as their weddings and engagements, world travel, childbirth, new jobs... and imposes them on her own life, thus lowering her own life experiences in between those milestones.

“If I don’t think of something to post on Facebook next, I feel like nothing significant is happening in my life. I feel more and more pressured to plan something big or make a change so I don’t get lost,” she says.

But without social media, that pressure evaporates for Farr. She embraces the simpler moments of life and focuses on what she has – a good job, a great community, supportive friends… She enjoys the moment instead of racing to a finish line.

Farr turned to the latest research on the effects of frequent social media use. A study of college students found that after they cut back on social media, their depressive symptoms dropped significantly. And a UK study found that Instagram was the social media platform that was most damaging to young people’s mental health, causing a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

However, experts say that these studies are still in their early stages, and it is too early to draw conclusions, because each person reacts to social media tools in different ways. In addition, a matter of debate is whether social media itself directly causes anxiety, or whether quitting Instagram gives people time to do things that make them happy, such as exercising, talking to friends or reading books.

Regardless, Farr concluded her experiment: "I started to feel happier and lighter."

She cautions anyone contemplating a similar experiment to let close friends and family know in advance, as they may tag or mention you in posts without you saying anything. Also, consider whether you really need to give up all social media interactions or just quit checking them constantly. Finally, learn to live with the fact that you’ll miss out on events that are only broadcast via Facebook. Other than that, Farr has no regrets.